


To Mega Evolve

by ryttu3k



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Mega Evolution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 04:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7963186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryttu3k/pseuds/ryttu3k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Manon is given an offer she can't refuse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Mega Evolve

Manon smiles a lot, and asks a lot of questions, and wants to be the best.

She trips over her feet, and Hari-san has to catch her with her vines; Bébé makes loud disgruntled noises and waves her flower in a way that would be threatening if she wasn't four inches tall, Manon lies on her back with the coastal wind blowing in her messy hair and clutches the Pokeball to her chest and laughs from the sheer rush of adrenaline and relief.

She had nearly gone over the cliff, but Hari-san, always dependable, always there for her, had caught her, and now they have a Bagon to add to the team.

"Who's a cute li'l baby dragon?" she coos when he's returned to her at the Pokemon Centre in Ambrette, "Who's a cute li'l one?"

He stares at her, then bunts his rather solid head against her hand. She laughs again, and only winces a little.

Draby, Drackhaus, Drattak. "I'll name you Draco," she says, and gives him a berry.

 

Manon has been training hard. Ahead of her is Cyllage Gym, and she knows that between Hari-san and Bébé, she has a solid chance of taking it - but they need to get stronger for that, and to get stronger, they need to train.

Quilladin is really awkward-looking, but she still gives Hari-san her favourite berries in congratulations. "You did great!" she enthuses, hugging her rotund little body, "Those Sandiles had no chance against you, huh? And Bébé and Draco, you were awesome too! The caves will be no match against us!"

She finds a couple of weirdos in red, creeping around ominously, acting like they're up to no good. Between the three of her team members, they're no match for her, and she sets her hands on her hips and tells them precisely where to go.

There's a smooth chuckle from the shadows. Manon starts, her hand moving instinctively to the top of Hari-san's head.

The man is very tall; she gazes up and up. He praises her strength, her skill, the curiosity that must have led her that far. Her team is skilled, he says; he asks if she wants to learn ways to make them stronger and stronger.

"How?" she asks, and he smiles, and tells her about Mega Evolution.

 

The Professor had told her about Mega Evolution, something curious and still under-utilised that he was studying. But Director Lysandre is an _expert_ ; he has studied it for a very long time, independently from the Professor, whom he fears may put himself in danger with his desire to learn more, always to learn more.

Lysandre can protect himself. He can learn things about Mega Evolution, do things with Mega Evolution energy, that the Professor would be wise to steer clear of.

He asks her if she wants to help him with his research. Nothing too strenuous; find Mega stones, fight others to collect the residual energy given off during battles. He can give her advice, supplies. A Shiny Stone for Bébé, Salamencite for Draco. A Mega Ring, keystone set in a black band.

He shows her Gyarados and its Mega Evolution, and power, _power_ washes over her.

 _Stranger danger!_ screams her common sense.

 _Become the strongest,_ echoes Lysandre's words. _Achieve your goals. Learn everything. Mega Evolve. Mega Evolve. Mega Evolve._

She reaches for the Mega Ring.

 

The Director gets her training hard. If she wants to be strong, if she wants to Mega Evolve, then Draco is going to need to be a Salamence, and that's going to take a lot of hard work. There's no time for the gym challenge now - she can do that later, encounter the different Mega Evolutions the leaders have.

Korrina of Shalour City has a Mega Lucario. Wulfric of Snowbelle, a Mega Abomasnow. The Elite Four all use them; Champion Diantha's Mega Gardevoir is famed in song and story.

Eventually, she will fight all of them.

For now, she trains, and searches, and learns to become strong.

 

Manon asks a lot of questions, but when the Director sends a pointed glance her way, she keeps her mouth shut. She smiles a lot, but it's automatic, a curve of her lips meant to disarm opponents, to make them underestimate her.

She wants to be the best. To Mega Evolve. That hasn't changed.

The day Draco evolves, the Director fixes a collar around his neck, Salamencite gleaming in the sun, and tells her to go out and fight.

 

That's _her_ Ampharosite.

The older guy looks caught off-guard, his hand inches from the stone, the Charmeleon at his side staring up at her in some surprise. It's probably a surprising image, she would have to admit; she's twelve and not very big, not very formidable, but she needs that stone and she's willing to fight for it.

The guy glances down at his Charmeleon, then at Draco, looming behind her, and hands it over.

With the Ampharosite in hand, she's able to relax, grinning at him, and asks him what his name is.

 

Maybe Alain isn't very pleased at giving up a Mega Stone, but he smiles readily enough when he warms up, is gentle with Liza the Charmeleon. They sit on the sun-warmed rocks outside the ruins and talk; he tells her about his work with Professor Sycamore and the research they do.

Manon's stomach clenches uncomfortably. There are bad people who would use Mega Evolution energy for their own purposes. She worries for Alain, for the Professor.

If it came down to a fight, would either of these scientists be able to defend themselves against the bad people out there?

Siebold of the Elite Four has a restaurant in the next town. Alain offers to walk her there, and she agrees. They walk, and they tell stories.

At least she'll be able to keep an eye on him.

 

"When a Pokemon fell from the top of Prism Tower," she says, a sad little smile on her face as she recalls the image of the boy in the news, "He jumped right after it. You can't do that unless you trust each other, right?"

 

Mega Blastoise' boosted Dragon Pulse takes Draco down, and she silently recalls him back to his Pokeball.

"You fought well," Siebold of the Elite Four says with an indulgent smile, "Not everyone can last in battle that long against an Elite."

At the Pokemon Centre, Alain sets a hand on her shoulder. "I heard that there's a Mega Stone around here," he says casually, and she knows it's his own awkward way of trying to cheer her up. "Want to race for it?"

 

One advantage of being short: she can literally scramble on to Alain's shoulders and grab the stone from its casing while he's still reaching up on tiptoes.

She falls off his shoulders anyway, landing squarely on Draco's back, and laughs giddily, clutching the Alakazamite to her chest.

"I win," she says, and grins.

 

The Director wants her to go to Hoenn. Alain hesitates for only a minute, then leaves to call the Professor. There are Mega stones there too, he explains afterwards, not quite meeting her eye, they can continue their competition.

She's kind of glad. Who knows what kind of trouble Alain and the Professor would get in to without her being around to keep an eye on him?

It doesn't occur to her that he might be thinking the same thing.

 

She falls down a hill, gets wedged in a tree, and is helped out by a really pretty guy in a suit. She gapes up at him for a moment, and then her gaze lands squarely on the keystone on his lapel.

Alain calls her name as he hurries down the hill. Manon pays him no mind.

"Our eyes met," she explains as she lets Draco out, the stranger assessing him for a moment before releasing a gold and silver Metagross. Her eyebrows raise, impressed despite herself. "Hope you're ready!"

And okay, maybe this guy really is a skilled trainer, because she can sort of tell he's going easy on her and she's still not making any headway, and honestly, she's kind of relieved when the battle is very suddenly interrupted by a Flamethrower out of nowhere.

She hadn't expected the Director to follow her to Hoenn. Half a question escapes her throat; she strangles the words before they escape, she keeps her head down as the Director addresses the Hoenn Champion, the _Champion_ , no wonder she had no chance, how had she ever?

"I apologise for my subordinate's rudeness," the Director tells the Champion, and she can feel shame creeping over her skin, stealing through her bones like ice, and she keeps her head down and does not speak a word.

The Director asks her who her traveling companion is. She doesn't speak; Alain is the one to introduce himself, to proclaim that he's a student of Professor Sycamore and is accompanying Manon while they search for Mega Stones. The Director makes a thoughtful noise, and turns to ignore him too.

Draco nudges her side. Her fingers find his collar and grips it hard. Alain rests his hand on her shoulder and asks if she's okay, and for once in her life, she just wants to be a little girl, to be the one protected, not the one to protect.

She shakes it off. "I'm fine," she snaps, "I'm _fine_ , don't treat me like a little kid!"

Not looking back, she sets off after the Director and the Champion.

There's work to do.

 

They find the Megalith.

They find Mega Rayquaza.

It doesn't go very well.

 

Alain is nursing his shoulder. He's been hurt protecting her, hurt because she wasn't strong enough, and she's trembling as the Champion, as Steven comes looking for them.

The Director seems not to notice her distress or Alain's injury. While Steven checks Alain's shoulder, he draws her aside and asks her to keep close to the Champion as they return to Rustboro.

Manon nods distractedly and returns to Alain and Steven's sides.

She can't stop shaking.

 

Rustboro City is beautiful, but she has no time to admire the view. The Director wants her to stick close to Steven, and that apparently means being escorted into the heart of Devon Corporation itself, watching with intermingled fear and fascination at the footage they are being shown.

They've found the Megalith, it seems. No sign of Rayquaza, but Groudon and Kyogre instead.

The Director and Steven speak of the primal forces that could destroy the world.

"Manon," the Director says, "Go and check out the situation."

"I'll go with you," Alain says immediately.

"I'll go and prepare a mode of transport," Steven adds.

The rocks crash around her again, the world shaken loose from its moorings at Rayquaza's fury. The fear, the growing darkness, Alain tackling her to the ground. The pain on his face.

And Arceus, she's scared, she's so damn scared, she doesn't want to die, she doesn't want to face the wrath of Groudon and Kyogre, she doesn't want Alain to go, she doesn't want Alain to leave her.

"Stay here," she says, and her voice quakes, and her eyes are full of tears. "Stay _here_! You only have a Charmeleon! Me and Steven will handle this, it's too dangerous! Aren't you _scared_?"

She has to go, she has to, the Director has told her she must, and she must do what he says, but Alain - Alain has no involvement in this. He needs to stay safe. She needs to protect him.

"I'm not letting you go on your own," he says grimly. "You're _twelve years old_. If you're going, I'm going. I'm going to keep you safe. You're _not_ fighting them on your own!"

His voice has raised to a shout; she flinches. Instantly, he calms himself, kneeling in front of her, hands on his shoulders.

"Don't go," he says quietly. "You don't have to."

"Yes, I do," she says, and bites her lip so hard she tastes copper. "But you don't... I don't..." The words catch in her mouth; she has to force them out, force back the tears at the same time. "Want anything to... happen to you..."

"We'll go back to Kalos," he says.

"I can't," she whispers, and wipes her eyes, and sets off after Steven at a run.

 

Manon is weeping as she sends Draco out into the fray, into fire and ice and water, weeping and praying. The Mega Ring around her wrist burns hot.

Protect the Megalith. Protect Hoenn. Protect the world.

Steven holds on to her shoulder, but this is all the reassurance he can give. His Metagross is fighting for their life; Draco is fighting for his life. They're fighting for their lives and for the lives of Hoenn, for the lives of everyone in the world.

She can't be a coward. She can't let the Director down.

Draco falls; Draco is struck by a Stone Edge so powerful it glows like molten Earth and he falls to the ice, and all of Manon's fear flees her at once. She's out of the plane and on to the tenuous ice platform before Steven can even raise a word of protest, because Draco is her partner, Hari-san might have been her starter but Draco is her _partner_ , she has to get to him, she has to save him, he's hurt and he needs her.

He's injured badly. She recalls him to his ball, her hands trembling.

That's when Groudon throws Kyogre at her.

 

She wakes up to find Alain crouching over her with his blue eyes wide in fear, wakes in time to see Mega Rayquaza coiled around the Megalith like it's an egg, in time to see the Megalith claimed and to disappear into the sea.

Rayquaza returns to the sky.

The sea becomes calm.

"Manon." Alain gazes down at her. "Were you scared?"

"Yeah," she says, and bites her lip, the injuries from last time opening again. Her entire body hurts. "But, um - I had to, I had no choice - you - you shouldn't have followed me, you - you -"

She doesn't have the words. Can't find the way to say it, the way to say _thank you_ and _I'm sorry_ and _please stay safe, just stay safe_ all at once. She hugs him fiercely, lets her tears dampen his shirt, and tries not to fall apart when he hugs her back.

 

"I'm going back to Kalos to train," she tells Steven, and banishes the fear from her mind. "I'm going to get stronger. Please make sure Alain stays here. He'll only get hurt again if he stays around me, and he can't, I don't want him to, I...!"

Steven only nods once, and his eyes are sad as he watches her go.

 

"We've gained more Mega Evolution energy from the Megalith than expected," the Director tells her calmly as they gaze at it in the laboratories. "The project that will attain the peace I aim for moves onto the next stage. It's thanks to you, Manon."

She smiles, but it's wobbly, it's afraid. "I was scared out there," she admits, and her voice trembles. "I was really scared, and Alain had to help me, and -!" Sucking in a breath, she forces out the words, "Me and Draco, we're not nearly strong enough. We have to get stronger - I want to be strong!"

He doesn't smile. But he does agree, and that's the most important thing.

 

Ten trainers. Ten Pokemon. Draco's Salamencite and her keystone on the line.

"If you want to be the strongest, win."

She rubs the exhaustion from her eyes and starts on battle number three.

 

Alain is here. Alain is here and he shouldn't be, because he's already been hurt because of her, because he's already risked his life to save hers, because she can't let him get hurt just because of her.

He needs to go home to the labs, where he'll be safe. He needs to leave her alone.

Maybe she'll be strong enough to protect him one day, but she's not, she's not, she remembers the look in the Director's eye when he stared down at her and said, _"I don't need weaklings"_ , she needs to be stronger...

"Why are you doing this?" he says.

"It's none of your business!" She's scowling, arms crossed over her chest, staring up at him and wishing she was about two feet taller. "How come you had to come back?"

Alain makes a disgruntled sound. "Someone's got to keep an eye on you, huh?"

"You almost died!"

It comes out as a scream.

"You could have died out there! And you didn't - you didn't - ugh!" She shoves at him, spins around, hunches her shoulders to hide her tears. "You're treating me like a little kid, I can take care of myself, I don't need you to babysit me, just go home and stop following me around!"

He reaches for her shoulder. "You don't have to do this alone -"

She spins and slaps his hand away. "Get away from me," she almost snarls. "I need to get stronger and you need to _leave me alone_!"

Alain is an adult. He can take care of himself, so long as he stays away from her.

It still doesn't stop her heart hurting like someone has taken it in their fist and squeezed as he turns, head down, and walks away.

 

The last trainer is a member of the Elite Four - Malva, the Fire specialist. Malva smirks, she teases, she asks what Mega Evolution means to Manon.

It's strength to protect. Strength to ensure that others don't have to hurt.

The Director congratulates her, a rare smile on his face. She smiles back involuntarily, out of breath, exhausted, and sore, and, really, quite pleased with herself.

One of the Director's employees hurries up, whispers something urgently. The Director's eyes widen. "What?!"

"What?" Manon echoes, and the Director turns to her, his smile completely gone. " _What?_ What is it? What's wrong...?"

 

Everything is wrong. Everything is wrong and Alain is hurting because of her, Alain is trembling as the Professor tries to comfort him because of her, Liza is lying in a containment chamber with her little Charmeleon tail flame barely a flicker of a flame because of her.

The Director is making promises to care for Liza because of her, Alain is rubbing his eyes to force away the tears he's too stubborn to let fall because of her, all of this has gone wrong.

Because of her.

"To wake up Charmeleon, we need to establish the Mega Evolution energy system as soon as possible," the Director says, the sky as red as Liza's still form. "Do you understand, Manon?"

"I'll do it," Manon says, and tightens her grip on Draco's Pokeball. "I'll do it to save Liza and make Alain happy again."

 

Alain sits slumped at Liza's bedside. The Charmeleon is stable now, but hasn't woken up - hasn't woken up, and they don't know why, they don't know what has caused this, but Mega Evolution energy can do so much good.

He has Steven with him; he has the Professor with him. He's not alone, but bereft of Liza, he seems diminished, like something fundamental has been stripped away from him.

She can't give up. She can't.

Manon gazes at Alain for another long moment, and then turns, turns and walks away.

She has work to do.


End file.
